XENIA — The Greene County Board of Elections again failed to hire a deputy director after a meeting Tuesday resulted in a deadlock.

After multiple votes, the board voted 2-2 along party lines in hiring the deputy director — a Democrat — who would assist Director Alisha Lampert. The board consists of two Democrats and two Republicans and according to the Ohio Revised Code, the director and deputy must be from opposite parties.

Democrat board members Kim McCarthy and Anne Girard voted to appoint a current board employee as deputy director, Republican members Bruce Hull and Jan Basham voted no.

“We are looking for a person who has managerial and leadership skills,” Hull said. “We want what’s best for the voters.”

Hull and Basham also called for a motion to advertise the position in local newspapers and other social media with a $10,000 sign-on bonus that was amended to $5,000 after Kim McCarthy, executive chair of the Greene County Democratic Party, expressed concerns over the amount.

McCarthy also said the board needs to come to a consensus soon because “the March 19 primary is right around the corner.”

Kenneth Henning, deputy director of regional services for Frank LaRose, Ohio Secretary of State, was also present at the meeting. Henning oversees board of elections oversights/disagreements in 16 counties across Ohio reporting his findings to LaRose and his staff.

According to a directive on the SoS website, “if, after five ballots have been cast, no person has received at least three affirmative votes for the office of deputy director, the names of the persons nominated on the fifth ballot, and the names of the board members who nominated them, must be certified to the Secretary of State, who selects, from the list submitted, one person to serve as deputy director.”

We are awaiting confirmation of this and will update this story as needed.

Reach Karen Rase at 937-502-4534.